45 Colt Bisley Blackhawk

[trentvb]

http://images.trentvb.com/img_45.png

This is my new Ruger Bisley Blackhawk in .45 Colt. Really like it so far. Just shot it a few times today to make sure it is functioning. 45 colt grabs the attention better than 9mm, that is for sure.

Question: I have high hopes for accuracy out of this handgun. I ran a bullet through the bore and came up with a bore diameter of .4510. The cylinder throats measure .4515 with my calipers (i know this isn't ideal). I'm sizing my bullets at .4525. Will I need to have the cylinder relieved of some material so the bullets can exit a little larger?

I probably won't have time to shoot for groups for a week or two so this is an academic exercise at this point.

Thanks all.

[KMac]

Sounds like your cylinder needs a trip to DougGuy. He can ream all of the throats to .4525.


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[shorty500]

while slightly larger throats wouldn't hurt, if your measurements are correct , duh, the throats are larger than the groove diameter. Size to .4515 and hammer down as long as accurracy is good

[Edward]

I too say get DougGuy he did mine and most everyone else on this site ,he knows and explains why and how or else your spinning your wheels !

[Bigslug]

Try 'em at .452", then try them at .451". Before you fix it, it's always good to determine if it's broke first.

[Beagle333]

Nice! I got one... but mine remains in my "unfired collection" thus far. :D
http://i613.photobucket.com/albums/tt214/shutupandjump/Current%20guns/accusport%20bisley_zpsm3dashrl.jpg

[DougGuy]

It not a matter of it broke and needing repair Bigslug, it's a matter of custom "tuning" the throats to the .452" boolit. Plus factory throats are never even, not for Ruger anyway, when they leave here they all have the same amount of drag fit on the pin gage and this my friend is the difference you never knew existed, until groups shrink afterwards and a smile crosses the faces of the shooters..

[Larry Gibson]

Bigslug

Nice looking Ruger.

If your .4525 sized bullets don't fall through the cylinder throats they are fine. Shoot them and see how the accuracy is. Might not be broke and ergo doesn't need fixin.
Larry Gibson

[NavyVet1959]

I picked this one up for $600 about 2 years ago. It's the one that also comes with the .45ACP conversion cylinder. He also included the empty brass. I've loaded .45ACP brass to .460 Rowland level and shot it from this gun.

http://images.spambob.net/navy-vet-1959/ruger-bisley-blackhawk-320.jpg

[DHDeal]

Got one of those myself, though it no longer is the way it came from Ruger (Scott Kolar grips, Bowen rear sight, Clements front sight, Belt Mountain base pin, Wolff springs, highly polished internals, and Barranti leather). I bought it lightly used and I suspect while it was at Clements Custom for the front sight, he reamed the cylinder as all throats were even and large enough to let a .452" bullet slide but not fall through.

In my case if a .452 sized bullet wouldn't slide through the throat will little encouragement, the cylinder would have made a trip to Wake Forest North Carolina. I tend to remove any possible detriment to accuracy in the beginning, but that's me and OCD. My 357 Magnum Blackhawk went to DougGuy before I ever fired it as all throats were undersized and a couple were worse than others.

FWIW, mine shoots any bullet well, but a 300 grain LFNGC style with 21 grains of H110 and a CCI 350 really well. Recoil is brisk, but the way it stacks bullets into a small area sure makes it worthwhile. For a more relaxed load, I use a 280 grain LFN with 12 grains +/- of HS6 and the same CCI 350.

There's been a lot written about barrel constriction on the larger bores, but I haven't seen or felt it in any of my 44 caliber and larger Blackhawk's. It may be because all of mine are newer, or I've been lucky. Regardless, they all shoot well.

You've picked up a fine revolver in my opinion. You don't need to spend a penny more on it and it will still be a fine revolver.

[shoot-n-lead]

Hope you enjoy it!

I had one of those...sent it down the road a few months ago.

[Lloyd Smale]

ive had two of them in 45 colt. one a standard accusport the other a convertible. Both shot better after having the throats opened. Heck of a versatile gun. Still have one in 44 mag (more accurate then either of the 45s even after cyl work) . Probably one of the most practical hip holster carried open sighted hunting handgun on the market. Shoot the **** out of it. Its almost a crime not to.

[High Desert Hunter]

My Accusport model will place them all in less than 2" every time off a rest if I do my part, this with very undersized throats. Once shot a 1 1/4" group of 10 shots with a Lee 255gr RNFP bullet over a charge of 35grs of 3F Goex.

[Idaho45guy]

I bought one last summer and it will shoot...

Still need to send the cylinder to DougGuy for some work since it is not consistent at all and bit undersized. Still, it was getting some decent groups at 25yds...

195470

[clum553946]

+1 on having DougGuy ream the throats if they're tight for your bullets! Well worth the investment! Very nice gun by the way!

[Idaho45guy]

These Hogue grips I got off of Amazon for $60 were a decent upgrade; required some fitting, but they did help with some reduced felt recoil and feel much better than the originals...

195561

195562

[Pablo 5959]

Mine was sent out with the front sight to short. Ruger sent me a .420 blade and now it shoots POA. I still need to send the cylinders to Dougguy soon.

[4bisley5]

I have the exact model and it was your normal Ruger, tight throat stuff at .4505 to .451. It shot okay but nothing to write home about. After Doug opened the throats to .4525 it's now a genuine shooter that unless I lose my mind I'll never part with.

8.0 grains of Power Pistol behind a 255 grain Authentic Keith from Montana Bullet Works is the magic in mine.

[doc1876]

another add for DougGuy. I had a long conversation with him about my .44 Ruger, and he explained that my throats were surprisingly fine, and in doing so, he saved me the money.

What I am trying to say is he is also honest, if it don't need it, he won't do it.

[ejcrist]

Personally I'd work up a load for it first to see how it's doing before opening the throats. Doug is correct in that Rugers rarely have the same sized throats but it's possible yours does, or at least is close enough to not matter. The fact that your throats are larger than your bore is good - that's what it's supposed to be. So I'd take her for a spin at least to establish a baseline first, and then if you're not happy have the throats opened up to .4525 and see how much improvement you have.

[CHeatermk3]

You owe it to yourself to put it on paper as is so that you have a baseline for comparison if indeed you do send it off to have the cylinder tuned. That way you'll see for yourself the gains it can make, assuming you're a good enuff pistol shot for it to have made a difference...

[ejcrist]

One other thing to mention in case you have more than one Ruger 45 is that you might consider getting the Manson Reamer and pilots and doing it yourself. You can get 'em here: https://mansonreamers.com/. It's really easy to do, and then, if you're like me and always seem to come home with a new wheelgun after a gunshow, you'll be able to fix any undersized throats. I've got the 45, 44, and 32 reamers with all the pilots and I've used them on all my Rugers but one. The .32 reamer corrected .310 throats and improved the accuracy from about 4 1/2" groups at 25 yards to 1 1/2". Made a believer outa me.

[DougGuy]

I can still do two cylinders cheaper than the cost of the reamer and the pilots, and after reaming they still have to be cleaned up after the reamer finishes as it leaves considerable tool marks so for that I use a Sunnen hone.. The bargain is still to be had sending them out. Clements gets $75 for throating, Gary Reeder gets $125. My pricing is a LOT less than that and I promise you neither one of these guys is going to turn your cylinders over and have them back in a week!